Normal
by Nebilas
Summary: It's been two years since the events of Serenity. While people have healed, the scars are still there. River however, has to pretend. Despite how people act around her, she knows they're still terrified. Simon and his drugs only make things worse. But she has to pretend. That is until somebody new is dropped into the lives of the crew. OC
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Captain this is so unlike you!" Kaylee said happily. "You usually wait way too long to actually replace a part of Serenity." Mal shook his head at his mechanic. "I don't want it ending up like last time Kaylee. I ended up getting shot as you may recall." Kaylee smiled and skipped away, humming to herself.

Jayne watched as she skipped past him down the hall, before taking a large bite of apple. "Cagphn, I gknow I aschk thos a lot…" He swallowed his bite of apple. "Why is she always so damn happy?" Mal rolled his eyes at Jayne and made his way up towards the bridge. As he expected, someone was already sitting in the pilot's chair. "Hey Albatross." "Captain." River replied. "Two hours, fourteen minutes, and three seconds."

Mal shuddered involuntarily. "You have to stop doing that girl. It sets me off." River shrugged. "Your thoughts are loud." She offered in explanation. Mal grumbled and started to move out of the bridge. "Captain." River called to him. "Something is off."

"What do you mean River?" Mal asked, confused. "I don't know… It's just a feeling." Mal shivered. He had learned not to ignore River's "feelings" a long time ago. He sat down in the co-pilot's chair. "So how do we avoid this?" River grimaced. "I'm not sure that we can. Maybe just… No new passengers. But if it still happens it happens I suppose." and with that River stood on her chair and jumped up, grabbing a ledge, and pulled herself expertly into the vents of the ship. Mal sighed. The conversation was over.

XxXxXxXx

Simon sat waiting in the infirmary. River was late. As always. He frowned and he moved over next to the bed. He began to move various medications and drugs around, reorganizing them. He heard a quick flurry of movement and didn't bother to look up. "Hey mei mei." River sat on the bed, seemingly indifferent to her brother. "We're gonna try something new today." River nodded with no other sign that she cared. Simon rolled his eyes at her behavior and handed her two pills and water. She downed them both and waited for Simon to giver her the next pills. He handed her three this time. She took them as well. After one more pill and a shot she jumped up to leave. She shook her head briefly and walked out of the room.

"River wait. I have to ask a few-"

"Eight hours of sleep per night. No nightmares. No episodes." And with that she walked away again. Simon watched her retreating form and smiled, writing the stats down. At least she was getting better.

XxXxXxXx

River sat down in her room hugging her knees to her chest. She didn't like lying to people. She rubbed her head. She couldn't clear the fogginess this time. That didn't bode well. She tried to cover her ears with her hands, but it did nothing to block out the voices. She didn't need the voices. She didn't want the voices. _SHUT UP_ she screamed internally. She felt a tear run down her cheek as the voices did no such thing. River didn't know how long she sat there for, but the fogginess had cleared up enough for her to calm down some. River sensed someone outside of her door. She quickly wiped her tears away, hiding all traces of the crying. She had to be fine. She had to be normal. "River?" came Zoe's voice. "We need you on the bridge." "Going!" River said cheerfully before leaping up into the vents.

 _I have to be fine. I have to be normal._

A leftover tear hit the vent as she crawled. She wiped it away quickly. _Normal_

"Hey albatross." Mal greeted her. "Hows about puttin' us on the ground." River nodded and grinned. Taking control of the ship. She felt at home here. This ship was her only true home. So why did she feel so alienated? She looked down sadly, before putting up her facade again. _Normal_

 _I'm still a bit foggy._ She realized, trying to shake it off. She could fly the ship ok but she might be useless if they needed her for something. Too many voices. She attempted to shrug off any ill thoughts and flew the ship into the planet's atmosphere. _Calm. Normal._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

River expertly piloted the ship down, hardly feeling the landing. She smiled in satisfaction, and proceeded to flick buttons to shut down the engines. She quickly rose and breezed her way out of the bridge and down into the galley, where she waited for the door to be opened. Mal quickly came down the stairs and pushed the button to open the door, allowing the smell of flowers to waft over the crew. They all inhaled deeply, smiling.

"Right then." Mal grinned. "Kaylee and Zoe. Go get that part we need. "Jayne, with me, we've got a new contact." He paused. "River maybe-" "No, captain." Simon interrupted. "Fine fine, easy there doctor I said maybe. Fine you stay here and watch the ship. Simon I suppose do whatever you want." Simon looked between Kaylee and River guiltily. "Go with her Simon." River whispered. Simon smiled sheepishly and took off after his girlfriend. River smiled slightly, watching the two groups go off in different directions.

Once they were gone her smile vanished without a trace and she put her head in her hands. She had a massive headache now. She forced herself to stand up. Even on a border planet she couldn't risk being seen by Alliance. Staggering to her feet she walked inside and forced herself to get to the bridge. She plopped down and tried to gain control of the voices. After fifteen minutes of futility, she tried to just focus on one person at once.

Wading through the voices, she searched for Simon. She found him, near Kaylee and Zoe. Simon's thoughts were about Kaylee. Kaylee's were about Simon's. And Zoe's were about how she wished the "gorram children" would stop making lovey eyes at each other. River giggled. She searched for Mal.

Following the waves of voices, she found he and Jayne in a discussion with… Alliance? She shook her head and focused on the man before them. Disguised to look like a trader. She tensed. What did they want. She listened carefully and her eyes clouded in more confusion. _Legal drop to another border. Odd. Why don't they do it themselves._ Her eyes widened in astonishment, (as did Jayne's) at the price offered to Mal. Mal immediately accepted the deal, (how could he not) and they shook hands. River tried to find out what the package was. She looked into Mal, but he didn't know, so she tried to look into the Alliance's man, and was rewarded for her trouble with a headache. Gritting her teeth against the sudden dull pain, she tried to pry into his mind, but had to pull out as the pain became more and more intense.

River began to silently cry, holding her head. _Damn you Simon. Damn you and your drugs._ She began to rock back and forth in the chair. _You can't fix me Simon. No one can._ She stood up shakily, walking back down to the galley, slowly, carefully, her usual grace gone. _But if it makes the rest feel at ease. If it makes them happy. I'll do it. I'll try to be normal._ River numbly sat down on the walkway, forced to listen to the voices she could no longer tune out.

XxXxXxXx

Eventually all parties made it back to the ship, looking very satisfied with themselves. River had managed to calm herself down for the most part, and was cordially greeting everyone. To her surprise and disgruntlement, a new face was with them. The man she suspected to be alliance. A quick attempt to look into the man's mind sent a flash of pain through her head and she flinched. He didn't seem to recognize her at least.

"She walked with Mal next to the bridge, showing no indication of the pain in her head. "What's in the box captain?" "Being paid far too much to ask that Albatross." "Captain didn't I say about new passengers?" "I know River but we have to eat. And if we wanted we wouldn't have to do another job for months after this." River nodded, setting herself down in the pilot's chair.

"Get us airborne 'tross." Mal smiled sitting down heavily in the chair next to her. "We're departing in one minute. Move it." Mal said into the microphone. River started to undo her work from earlier in the day, turning on the engines, and getting the ship ready for deep space.

XxXxXxXx

Simon and Jayne finished strapping down the last package. There were quite a few smaller ones that the mystery man had brought on board with him. There was also the massive box set in the middle of the room as well. Simon frowned at it. The situation seemed almost… Familiar. "Doc! Let's go." Jayne hissed at him from the stairs. Simon shrugged off the feeling and quickly followed Jayne up the stairs.

They made their way up to the kitchen, where Mal was giving their new passenger the classic "Do and Do nots" for Serenity. The man before them introduced himself as 'Joe Wilson' and thanked the captain again before heading off to his room to sleep. River remained on the bridge. She didn't trust him. _I could know if it wasn't for the drugs._ From day one. More drugs, new test, maybe this will work. She hated it. They never helped. Nobody ever helped. She pretended because she cared about the crew. She wanted them to feel safe. _Normal._

She felt another migrane coming on and quickly disappeared into the vents so that nobody could see her. She held her head, silently rocking back and forth. _I wish the academy had never happened._ She thought bitterly. _I wish I didn't have the ability to read people. I didn't ask for this. I don't want this._

That's when River realized something else. It was why they were so afraid of her. Maybe they thought she did want to use it against them. Maybe they thought she did it on purpose. She scoffed at the thought. Only on people she didn't trust. The others were just loud. Everyone was loud. Those with training could be quiet.

She sighed, trying to ignore the throbbing in her head that had only intensified since she'd entered the vent. Suddenly a voice sliced through her head louder than she'd ever heard before. But it seemed almost… Muffled? _Fear. Confusion. Restrained._ Yet it was also very close. She jumped out of the vent. She took a deep breath and did what she liked to call a thought count, where she could identify how many people were on the ship. Mal, Kaylee, "Joe", Simon, Zoe, were in the kitchen. Alex and Jayne were in the galley. She sat down in the pilots chair, confused.

 _Alex?_ She leapt out of the chair and raced into the galley where she found Jayne doing bench presses. She stared at the large box and tried to look inside, pushing past her headache to look in. There he was. _What the hell?_ she thought to herself in abject horror. "Jayne!" She called down to the large man. "'Sup moonbrain?" "There's gonna be a fight. Bring your gun."

XxXxXxXx

Jayne and River walked into the kitchen as dinner was just being served. River seethed on the inside as Stephen Walker (Joe's actual name) sat across from her sipping at his soup. On the outside she appeared to be a normal 19 year old girl, drinking some water and soup, listening to the table conversations. _I will rip you limb from limb_. She had finally recovered enough from her headache to glean why Stephen had a person trapped in a box.

She clenched her fist. If she could get his hands on him… He was going to suffer. She was brought to the conversation when he began talking. "So… River was it?" She turned a steely gaze on him. Unfazed he continued. "Tell me. What's a gorgeous thing like you doing on this ship?" River gave him a slasher grin, knowing now was her chance to strike.

"I arrived in a box Mr. Stephen Walker. Much like the person you have in that box downstairs right now." The table fell silent and everyone stared at her in shock. Stephen stared at her, appalled, before making a scramble to get away, only to be met with the barrel end of Jayne's gun. "Woah slow down there." Jayne grinned. "That sounds like a helluva story." He cocked the gun and his grin intensified. "I can't wait to hear it."

XxXxXxXx

"Care to explain, Mr. Walker?" Mal asked sarcastically as he continued to tie him to a chair. "Piss off." Stephen snarled back. "Fine. I guess we'll just have to open up the box and see for ourselves." He slipped a gag into the man's mouth and walked towards the large box. River stared at the box, frowning. "He's sleeping." She gasped as the nightmare the sleeping figure inside was having swept over her. Fighting yet another headache _(You boob Simon)_ she tried to pry into his head. She got the basics on him as the pain forced her to close her eyes and sit down on the weight bench.

"Let's go Jayne." Mal instructed. And the two men, equipped with crowbars, began to pry the box open. "Ah hah!" Jayne exclaimed as the side fell away. Mal peered into the box as did the rest of the crew. "Well now." Mal said looking back to Stephen. "Looks like someone doesn't want to be here." Zoe whistled at the sight.

Indeed the person inside the box did not look to good. Bruises covered most of his body, he was chained down to the bottom of the box on his knees, with his arms spread out as far as they could be. His hair appeared to be matted down with blood, and as far as Simon could tell he probably had a few fractured ribs. "Jesus." Kaylee whispered in shock.

Mal simply stared until he walked back over to their captive and ripped the gag out of his mouth. "Who is he?" Stephen grinned sadistically. "He is nobody." Mal punched him across the face, then grabbed him by his hair. "Who. Is. He."

"Alexander Meyers." River grimaced as she stood. "Twenty years old, kidnapped from his university to be sold as…" River swallowed, disgusted. "A sex slave." Everyone stared at the poor boy still restrained in the box. "I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Sir." Mal said dangerously.

"Indeed. But money… Can buy just about anything." Stephen grinned. "Who were you selling him to?" Simon asked. "Dunno some bigshot government family." Stephen glanced around at the looks. "What? I don't owe them anything and I'd like to live thanks, so I'll just answer your questions." Simon sat down next to the box and stared at the ground. "Government family." He repeated numbly.

"Yeah reportedly the wife has some odd sexual tendencies, at least if you listen to the tabloids. Guess they were true." He said, smirking. "But from a university? That's mighty risky isn't it Cap'n?" Kaylee asked confused.

"She has a point captain." Zoe put in. "Why a university and not a small planet. And hell nowadays that doesn't mean anything. The record keeping has gotten so good the entire system would know within a week."

Stephen began to laugh. He laughed long and hard, before looking up at them, still fighting off some stray giggles. "See that's the beauty of this. He," he said nodding to Alex. "doesn't actually exist." "How?" Mal asked, furious. "Time travel." River whispered. Everyone paused and stared at her.

She slowly turned to face Stephen in the chair. "Let me understand this. The government. Discovers the secrets of time travel. Hides it from the people. Which I can understand to be fair. But they not only _use it._ They use it… TO SATISFY THEIR APPARENT NEED FOR SLAVES?" Everyone in the room took a step back. River never got this mad. Ever.

River however, was unaware of this. She had fought off her headache enough to go into the minds of both Stephen and Alex. She had seen enough. "He…" She breathed out, moving closer to Stephen, step by step. "Is perhaps the most genuine, honest, loving, caring, trustworthy person I have ever seen in my life. And you… You took away all of that from him." She now stood about a foot away and leaned into his face. She smashed her foot on his ankle. He screamed in agony. "His future." She smashed it down on his toes. He began to plead with her. It fell on deaf ears. Mal tried to grab her but she knocked him down to the ground. "His family." Snap went his big toe. "His friends." She moved to the other foot. "His life." *crack* right foot. "And you almost broke him. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "And you thought you had didn't you? You thought broke him. But you didn't. He won't break. Not for you. Not for anyone. And you, will never. hurt anyone, ever again." Then she snapped his neck, and he was silent.

 _ **A/N: Hey guys what's up. This is a new thing I'mean working on. I've always loved Firefly and Serenity so I thought why not! Let me know what you think!**_

 _ **Until Next Time! ~Nebilas~**_


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